The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently awarded a whistleblower more than $277,000 for their assistance in providing the agency with significant information that alerted it to an ongoing fraud scheme. It also provided a second award for $45,000 to an investor who helped the SEC recover assets that were ultimately returned to victims.

First SEC awards of the year

These awards are on the smaller end of the spectrum for SEC awards that have been handed out, but they mark the first awards handed out in 2020. The 2019 fiscal year was something of a down year for whistleblower awards—it was the first time since the program’s inception in 2011 that the agency took in fewer whistleblower tips than it did in the previous year. Part of the reason for that is likely the lack of resources the agency had during the government shutdown.

The amount of money handed out in whistleblower awards through the SEC in 2019 (about $60 million) was also significantly lower than the amount of money awarded in 2018 ($168 million). There were just eight individuals who received SEC whistleblower awards in 2019, versus 13 in 2018.

However, every award is noteworthy and important. The agency once again praised the whistleblowers in these latest couple cases for coming forward with the information they had and for the assistance they were able to provide to the SEC in conducting its investigations.

Since the SEC whistleblower program was founded, it has awarded about $387 million to 72 different whistleblowers. The awards account for 10 to 30 percent of money collected if the penalties exceed $1 million, and all award payments are made through an investor protection fund that was created by Congress and funded by sanctions paid to the SEC by violators of securities laws.

For more information about the steps you can take to submit a tip to the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, contact an experienced whistleblower lawyer at Kardell Law Group.

"Steve Kardell was terrific in representing me in some very adversarial discussions with Citigroup and also later represented me in my testimony before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission."
-Richard Bowen, Citigroup Whistleblower

"Incredible knowledge of employee related concerns and equally brilliant knowledge of health care regulations, standards of practice. I would recommend this firm to anyone."
-V.B.

"Reaching out to Steve Kardell was the best decision I made. His ability to provide immediate insight and direction was very powerful, and a huge relief during a very stressful time period. For anyone struggling with a whistleblower situation, I would highly recommend at least speaking with Steve. After a 10 minute call with him, I had a better understanding of what I was dealing with. Even better, he gave me some immediate hope.
In the end Steve did a better job than I thought was possible. Steve was able to get in contact with people in my organization, that I didn’t have access to. Because of his years of experience, he already has contacts in many organizations in Dallas. The entire situation was handled peacefully. I was impressed by his ability to “keep the peace”–rather than creating a battle with the organization. The reason I didn’t reach out to a lawyer initially, was because I thought it would mean an immediate end to any hope of a positive relationship with the company. Steve was able to address my concerns, and in the end I was able to continue to work for them."
-KS

"Never thought my career would end like it did after 30 years of service. I was part of the first round of the so called reduction of force. I asked myself how can I be part of this with 30 years of seniority. How did they pick these 90 plus employees? Now, the culture of this organization made you question every decision they made. It wasn’t what you knew it’s was a culture of who you know. Nonetheless, I did not accept their severance package. I immediately starting looking for an attorney who would take on my case. After the initial call to Steve I had hope again. He was open and honest about everything and reassured me he would do his best for me, and he did. I had an awesome outcome. Thanks Steve you’re the best."
-S.S.

Whistleblower Law For Managers is located in Dallas, TX and serves clients in and around Dallas, Irving, Mesquite and Dallas County.

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